DOCSLIB.ORG

The Case of the Retail Banking Industry

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Case of the Retail Banking Industry de la Cuesta-Gonzales, M., Froud, J., & Tischer, D. (2020). Coalitions and public action in the reshaping of corporate responsibility: the case of the retail banking industry. Journal of Business Ethics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04529-x Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record License (if available): CC BY Link to published version (if available): 10.1007/s10551-020-04529-x Link to publication record in Explore Bristol Research PDF-document This is the final published version of the article (version of record). It first appeared online via Srpinger Nature at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-020-04529-x. Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher. University of Bristol - Explore Bristol Research General rights This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/red/research-policy/pure/user-guides/ebr-terms/ Journal of Business Ethics https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04529-x ORIGINAL PAPER Coalitions and Public Action in the Reshaping of Corporate Responsibility: The Case of the Retail Banking Industry Marta de la Cuesta‑González1 · Julie Froud2 · Daniel Tischer3 Received: 28 May 2019 / Accepted: 4 May 2020 © The Author(s) 2020 Abstract This paper addresses the question of whether and how public action via civil society and/or government can meaningfully shape industry-wide corporate responsibility (ICR) behaviour. We explore how, in principle, ICR can come about and what conditions might be efective in promoting more ethical behaviour. We propose a framework to understand attempts to develop more responsible behaviour at an industry level through processes of negotiation and coalition building. We suggest that any attempt to meaningfully infuence ICR would require stakeholders to possess both power and legitimacy; moreover, magnitude and urgency of the issue at stake may afect the ability to infuence ICR. The framework is applied to the retail banking industry, focusing on post-crisis experiences in two countries—Spain and the UK—where there has been considerable pressure on the retail banking industry by civil society and/or government to change behaviours, especially to abandon unethical practices. We illustrate in this paper how corporate responsibility at the sector level in retail banking is the product of context-specifc processes of negotiation between civil society and public authorities, on behalf of customers and other stakeholders, drawing on legal and other institutions to infuence industry behaviour. Keywords Corporate responsibility · Industry corporate responsibility · Business ethics · Retail banking · Stakeholder negotiation · Bank business model · Financial services · Spain · UK Abbreviations PAH Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca (Plat- BBA British Bankers Association (now UK Finance) form of People Afected by Mortgages) CR Corporate responsibility PCA Personal current account CSR Corporate social responsibility PLC Public Limited Company FCA Financial conduct authority PPI Payment protection insurance GFC Great fnancial crisis SB Savings bank ICR Industry corporate responsibility SME Small and medium size enterprises MYM Move your money TCF Treating customers fairly Introduction * Julie Froud [email protected] The scrutiny by governments, non-government organisations Marta de la Cuesta-González [email protected] and civil society that followed the Great Financial Crisis highlighted how banks can abuse their position as power- Daniel Tischer [email protected] ful economic intermediaries in pursuit of shareholder value creation. In particular, banks were observed to engage in 1 Departamento de Economía Aplicada, Facultad de value extraction through fees or speculative activities disem- Económicas y Empresariales de la UNED, C/ Senda del Rey bedded from the real economy (Muellerleile 2013) and have 11, 28040 Madrid, Spain collectively resisted calls for change, despite signifcant and 2 Alliance Manchester Business School, University sustained national and international uproar about unethical of Manchester, Booth St West, Manchester M156PB, UK practices. This is important for two reasons in relation to 3 School of Management, 2.06 Howard House, Queen’s the wider importance of banking in everyday economic and Avenue, Bristol BS8 1SD, UK Vol.:(0123456789)1 3 M. de la Cuesta-González et al. social life. First, as providers of banking, credit, insurance Lewis 2016; Schaltegger and Burritt 2010). Such initiatives and other services for small- and medium-sized business, do not in themselves embed and normalise responsible retail banks fulfl important intermediary and enabling func- behaviour. Indeed, the recurrence of socially and economi- tions (Froud et al. 2017). Second, access to fnance through cally irresponsible or unethical behaviour by frms individu- bank accounts and other fnancial services is essential for ally and collectively raises questions about whether organ- citizens’ economic and social participation (Schmidt et al. isation-level actions can provide a meaningful approach to 1999; Allen and Santomero 1998). In this sense, retail bank- tackle (fundamental) problems characterising an industry ing is a foundational infrastructure (Froud et al. 2018). Yet (Fernández-Olit et al. 2019). instead of ensuring this basic functionality, banks’ actions to Drawing on these important themes, this paper considers defend proftability have had deleterious efects on their cus- responsibility initiatives afecting frms across an industry tomers, including mis-selling of fnancial products, collapse which are the outcome of actions by industry stakeholder of small business lending, mortgage foreclosure and retail coalitions rather than arising through voluntaristic action. branch closures (Froud et al. 2017; Paulet et al. 2015; Vives- Such actions are considerably rarer than instrumental, frm- Miró and Gutiérrez 2017). These behaviours are contrary to level CSR, despite eforts by civil society to scale up collab- those we might expect from banks as socially responsible orations to target a whole industry (Den Hond et al. 2014). actors; and they are in contrast to the positive impact banks The beneft of assuming an industry perspective lies in what can have on fnancial inclusion, economic and social devel- Beschorner and Hajduk (2017) call ‘the downscaling efect’: opment (Fernández-Olit and de la Cuesta-González 2014). within an industry context, responsibility can be substanti- In principle, curbs on unethical bank behaviour could ated and thus made clear and manageable for companies and result from government action, investor-led initiatives or their stakeholders. The industry-level corporate responsibil- other pressures from external actors, whereby organisations ity (ICR) framework draws attention to ‘interactions between are compelled or at least encouraged to meet wider stake- businesses, NGOs, political actors and other organisations’, holder interests. Governments have tended to see this as the (Powell and DiMaggio 1991; Beschorner 2004) which may role of investors, and many businesses (including banks) be more evident at an industry rather than an individual frm have adopted investor-led corporate social responsibility level. In the specifc case of retail banking considered in this (CSR) initiatives to address expectations related to broader paper, ‘reform’ ambitions emerged before, during and after impacts on society, the economy and the environment (de the crisis, refecting a signifcant gap between bank behav- Bakker et al. 2013; Doh and Guay 2006; Schaltegger and iour and expectations of fair and efective fnancial services Burritt 2010; Steurer 2010). This positivist or instrumental held by civil society, private and business customers. Mis- approach to CSR recognises stakeholder demands for the selling of fnancial products, closure of bank branches (espe- primary purpose of sustaining or improving proftability and cially in rural areas), failure to lend to small- and medium- shareholder value (Esteban-Sánchez et al. 2017) but leaves sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as irresponsible lending limited opportunity to meaningfully alter business models on property have variously emerged as endemic problems or the ethical foundations of business (Sternberg 2011). requiring sector-level action (Fernández-Olit et al. 2019; This approach is also centred on easily quantifable aspects Froud et al. 2017). of responsibility (Maniora 2017) more than the impact of The paper addresses the question of whether and how pub- their intermediary activity on customer welfare and society lic action (via civil society and/or government) can meaning- (Fernández-Olit and de la Cuesta-González 2014). In this fully afect industry-wide corporate responsibility behaviour. sense, corporate responsibility has often been a documentary Where problems extend over a sector and challenge the basic artefact accounting for the positive impact of the business on function of retail banks from a stakeholder perspective, have society in annual accounts or standalone reports rather than actions to improve corporate responsibility been coordinated providing meaningful accounts of ethical business behaviour rather than left to the discretion of individual banks? To (Coupland 2006, p. 3). explore these issues, we focus on post-crisis experiences in Such reporting therefore becomes a way of recognising two countries, Spain and
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Prime Minister
    House of Commons Liaison Committee The Prime Minister Oral Evidence Tuesday 17 May 2011 Rt Hon David Cameron MP Ordered by The House of Commons to be printed 17 May 2011 HC 608-ii Published on 11 July 2011 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £5.50 cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [SE] Processed: [08-07-2011 15:30] Job: 012362 Unit: PG01 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/012362/012362_w001_mick_11.06.17 ltr to Chair fm PM- response to Q.64.xml Ev 28 Liaison Committee: Evidence Tuesday 17 May 2011 Members present: Sir Alan Beith (Chair) Mr James Arbuthnot Richard Ottaway Mr Adrian Bailey Mr Laurence Robertson Dame Anne Begg Mr Graham Stuart Malcolm Bruce Mr Andrew Tyrie Sir Alan Haselhurst Keith Vaz Margaret Hodge Joan Walley Andrew Miller ________________ Examination of Witness Witness: Rt Hon David Cameron MP, Prime Minister, gave evidence. Chair: Welcome, Prime Minister, to your second give companies the capacity to enable Britain to grow session with the Liaison Committee in this Parliament. its way out of recession. The latest Bank of England We also welcome your agreement to come three times figures, however, show that bank lending has actually a year. That means that there will be three sessions, fallen. When are the Government going to use their of which this is first, before the end of this calendar powers, particularly with banks of their own, to ensure year. We have agreed that we will have shorter and that there is an increase in lending to business? more frequent meetings to allow us to cover a limited Mr Cameron: Obviously, the recent figures are number of subjects in greater depth.
    [Show full text]
  • The Big Society
    House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee The Big Society Seventeenth Report of Session 2010–12 Volume II Oral and written evidence Additional written evidence is contained in Volume III, available on the Committee website at www.parliament.uk/treascom Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 7 December 2011 HC 902-II [Incorporating HC 716] Published on 14 December 2011 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £13.00 The Public Administration Select Committee The Public Administration Select Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the reports of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and the Health Service Commissioner for England, which are laid before this House, and matters in connection therewith, and to consider matters relating to the quality and standards of administration provided by civil service departments, and other matters relating to the civil service. Current membership Mr Bernard Jenkin MP (Conservative, Harwich and North Essex) (Chair) Alun Cairns MP (Conservative, Vale of Glamorgan) Michael Dugher MP (Labour, Barnsley East) Charlie Elphicke MP (Conservative, Dover) Paul Flynn MP (Labour, Newport West) Robert Halfon MP (Conservative, Harlow) David Heyes MP (Labour, Ashton under Lyne) Kelvin Hopkins MP (Labour, Luton North) Greg Mulholland MP (Liberal Democrat, Leeds North West) Priti Patel MP (Conservative, Witham) Lindsay Roy MP (Labour, Glenrothes) The following members were also members of the Committee during the inquiry: Nick de Bois MP (Conservative, Enfield North) Mr Charles Walker MP (Conservative, Broxbourne) Powers The powers of the Committee are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 146.
    [Show full text]
  • Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
    Monday Volume 524 7 March 2011 No. 127 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Monday 7 March 2011 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2011 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Parliamentary Click-Use Licence, available online through The National Archives website at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/our-services/parliamentary-licence-information.htm Enquiries to The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU; e-mail: [email protected] 621 7 MARCH 2011 622 Mrs May: I understand where the hon. Gentleman is House of Commons trying to lead his question. Of course there are rules on that offence in relation to exclusions from the United Monday 7 March 2011 Kingdom. Decisions on exclusions are taken by the Home Secretary on the basis of evidence put forward by the UK Border Agency. The House met at half-past Two o’clock Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere) (Con): On temporary residence, is it not clear that under the Government’s PRAYERS plans students are welcome to come and study in this country, and, indeed, should be made welcome? However, [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] is it not part of the inheritance of this Government that large numbers of people have used the study route as a means of coming to the country to work, rather than to study? Will my right hon. Friend give me an assurance Oral Answers to Questions that this Government will bear down on bogus students and bogus colleges who abuse the system? Mrs May: I am grateful to my hon.
    [Show full text]
  • Big Society Capital
    Saïd Business School Case Big Society Capital The World’s First Social Investment Wholesale Bank Jess Daggers Alex Nicholls October 2016 1 Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank all the many people who contributed to the development of this case, notably Aunnie Patton who was responsible for much of initial fieldwork behind the case. We would also like to express our gratitude to key staff at Big Society Capital - including Simon Rowell, Nick O’Donohoe and Cliff Prior – for their very helpful comments on earlier versions of the case. This case reveals the development of Big Society Capital as something of a ‘secret history’ by focussing, particularly, on the individuals, sets of relationships and pivotal events that lead to its establishment. As such, the case narrative is built upon a range of reflections that represent the views of many key actors during the main phases of its development rather than a post hoc set of observations. In this sense, the case attempts to piece together a complex story from a variety of evidence and perspectives that may not always be consistent and which do not incorporate the benefits of hindsight. It is hoped that this approach will provide a more ‘true’ account of the development of this important institution in contrast to the more rationalized version of events typical of many histories of institution building. 2 Introduction Big Society Capital (BSC) is a financial institution set up for the purpose of building the market for social investment in the UK. BSC defines social investment as ‘the use of repayable finance to achieve a social as well as a financial return’.
    [Show full text]
  • JP__Lehndorff__Divisive Integration PRELIMS Ver 8.Indd
    European Trade Union Institute Bd du Roi Albert II, 5 1210 Brussels Belgium Tel.: +32 (0)2 224 04 70 Fax: +32 (0)2 224 05 02 [email protected] www.etui.org Divisive integration The triumph of failed ideas in Europe — revisited Edited by Steffen Lehndorff Divisive integration Among numerous publications on the European crisis, the edited volume A triumph of failed ideas stood out in that it viewed the crisis through the lens of individual countries. The triumph of failed ideas Since the book’s publication in 2012, Europe has undergone further far-reaching changes: economic and social developments across the continent have become disjointed, and in Europe — revisited many Europeans, experiencing or witnessing the effects of austerity and labour market deregulation, now regard the whole European endeavour and its governing institutions as a menace rather than an achievement; in several EU countries these citizens’ fears — have served to boost support for right-wing nationalist parties. The current multifaceted Edited by European crisis exhibits many new features; its political, social and economic facets are Steffen Lehndorff no longer a mere continuation of trends triggered by the financial havoc of 2008/2009 and the ensuing euro-zone crisis in 2010. Against this changed background the same integration Divisive — revisited ideas in Europe of failed The triumph Lehndorff by Steffen Edited team of authors presents a new book. The new message delivered is the following: a gradual recovery from protracted crisis in the EU is feasible only if a change of course in individual countries triggers reactions in other nations’ policies, thereby causing jolts at the EU level; however, a change of course in individual countries is nowadays generally ruled out in the absence of a green light – or at least a stance of tolerance – on the part of the European institutions.
    [Show full text]
  • 8-14 February Managing Government in Times of Coalition
    Coalition Update: 8-14 February Managing Government in times of coalition Coalition needs a new approach to collective responsibility (LibDemVoice, 11 February) Richard Morris discusses how the coalition interprets the notion of collective responsibility, so that members of the government, rather than just backbenchers, can be honest about differences in policy within the coalition. The spotlight begins to shine on the coalition's flaws and faultlines (Observer, 13 February) Andrew Rawnsley discusses how recent political events have shown up key coalition weaknesses. He claims that the coalition is a "top-down project" based on its reliance on David Cameron and Nick Clegg. David Cameron allows Nick Clegg to share his audiences with the Queen (Telegraph, 12 February) Nick Clegg has been having regular meetings with the Queen due to his position as Lord President of the Council, a job not usually given to someone with his Cabinet role. The Big Society Nick Clegg out to wreck Big Society as David Cameron tries to salvage flagship policy (Mail on Sunday, 13 February) The Mail on Sunday claims that "Tory officials" have said that Nick Clegg believes the "Big Society" is a "waste of time" and that the term is not permitted in the Cabinet Office. Menzies Campbell calls the idea "BSE". AV Reform Conservative peers help Labour defeat Nick Clegg over voting referendum (Telegraph, 8 February) Ten Conservative peers defied government instructions on a key plank of the coalition agreement and voted with Labour in support of a 40 per cent turnout threshold for the result of a referendum on AV to be binding.
    [Show full text]
  • Easing Marginal Lending Decisions to Smes
    Pointmaker CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE EASING MARGINAL LENDING DECISIONS TO SMES JAMES CONWAY AND MICHAEL O’CONNOR SUMMARY There is a strong perception that many SMEs A quick, simple, low cost and effective way of are struggling for credit; and that new achieving this would be for the government to set mechanisms of financing SMEs have to be up an Ignition Capital Scheme. In this scheme, looked at. Hence the Chancellor’s the government would provide mezzanine announcement of “credit easing”. financing (of typically 20% of the total loan value) for those projects which would under normal Lending to SMEs has contracted over the last economic conditions be considered a good risk two years with average monthly new terms but which in today’s conditions do not quite meet lending to small businesses having fallen by the bank’s lending criteria. 31% between 2009 and 2011. The existing banking infrastructure would One reason for this may be a lack of continue to be responsible for risk management confidence due to the current economic crisis. and due diligence. The interests of the bank and Many SMEs may be more interested in of the government would be closely aligned. reducing debt than in taking out new loans. This approach would unlock a minimum of £25 Indeed, survey evidence suggests that only 2% billion of investment in SMEs for every £5 billion of SMEs have applied for a loan within the last provided by the government. In addition, as a 12 months and emerged with nothing. portfolio of the government’s mezzanine loans However, many SMEs may have been would be an attractive investment opportunity discouraged from applying to borrow because for the private sector, it should be easily of a perception that the banks are not lending saleable.
    [Show full text]
  • Something's Got to Give
    B reakthrough Breakthrough Britain II Britain II Something’s Got to Give: The state of Britain’s voluntary and community sector SOMETHING’S GOT TO GIVE The state of Britain’s voluntary and community sector December 2013 £25.00 The Centre for Social Justice 4th Floor, Victoria Charity Centre, 11 Belgrave Road The Centre for Social Justice London SW1V 1RB ISBN: 978 0 9573587 6 8 www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk @CSJThinktank contents Contents About the Centre for Social Justice 2 Preface 3 Members of the CSJ Voluntary Sector Working Group 5 Special thanks 10 Chairman’s foreword 11 Executive summary 14 Introduction 23 1 The state of the sector 31 1.1 A snapshot of the sector’s finances 32 1.2 Weak charitable giving 34 1.3 Concentration of resources 36 1.4 The causes people give to 37 1.5 Changing nature of the sector 39 1.6 The place of trusts and foundations 39 1.7 Conclusion 41 2 Commissioning public services from the voluntary sector 43 2.1 Historic trends 44 2.2 Current trends 45 2.3 The private sector 47 2.4 The commissioning relationship between the state and the voluntary sector 50 2.5 Conclusion 62 3 Social action 63 3.1 Voluntary sector cold spots 63 3.2 Government initiatives 69 3.3 Volunteering 78 3.4 Faith-based organisations 82 3.5 Conclusion 85 4 Social investment 87 4.1 Progress so far 89 4.2 The potential for social investment 92 4.3 Challenges to growth 93 4.4 The scope of social investment 101 4.5 Conclusion 102 5 Conclusion 103 Something’s Got to Give | Contents 1 About the Centre for Social Justice The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) aims to put social justice at the heart of British politics.
    [Show full text]
  • Powerful People, Responsible Society
    Powerful People, Responsible Society The report of the Commission on Big Society ACEVO 1 New Oxford Street London WC1A 1NU Tel: 020 7280 4960 Fax: 020 7280 4989 [email protected] www.acevo.org.uk Published by ACEVO Copyright © 2011 ACEVO All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, or transmitted, or translated into a machine language without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Text pages_Big Society_Layout 1 09/05/2011 08:55 Page 1 Contents 3 Introduction 4 The Commission on Big Society 5 Executive Summary 8 Chapter One More definition 14 Chapter Two Better partnership with the voluntary sector 26 Chapter Three More statecraft 43 Chapter Four Harnessing the power of the private sector 52 Appendices A. About the Commission B. The organisations we spoke to C. Public polling D. Poll of voluntary sector chief executives Contents Powerful people, responsible society: the report of the Commission on Big Society 1 Text pages_Big Society_Layout 1 09/05/2011 08:55 Page 2 2 Powerful people, responsible society: the report of the Commission on Big Society Text pages_Big Society_Layout 1 09/05/2011 08:55 Page 3 Introduction Lord Rennard, Chair of the Commission on Big Society There is much cynicism about the phrase ‘Big Society’. It is clear that it is actually undermining of the Big Society concept for anyone to imply that it is new, or that its origins are with a certain type of political thinker or that any sense of overall responsibility for it might lie with any level of government, any particular politician or any political party and its programme.
    [Show full text]
  • A Strategy for Economic Growth: a Modern Industrial Policy
    A strategy for economic growth: a modern industrial policy David Green October 2012 © Civitas 2012 55 Tufton Street London SW1P 3QL Civitas is a registered charity (no. 1085494) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales (no. 04023541) email: [email protected] Independence: Civitas: Institute for the Study of Civil Society is a registered educational charity (No. 1085494) and a company limited by guarantee (No. 04023541). Civitas is financed from a variety of private sources to avoid over-reliance on any single or small group of donors. All the Institute’s publications seek to further its objective of promoting the advancement of learning. The views expressed are those of the authors, not of the Institute. 3 Contents Foreword Summary Chapter One: Can we learn from America’s longstanding industrial policy? Chapter Two: Stop making matters worse – energy policy Chapter Three: Britain’s strategic position Chapter Four: The conditions for enterprise Conclusions Notes 4 Foreword In his March 2012 Budget speech George Osborne called some of his measures a ‘modern industrial policy’. He even said that we should not be shy about identifying our successful industries and reinforcing them. Not long ago such policies were denounced as ‘picking winners’ but nevertheless he planned to champion life sciences and aerospace, even promising to establish a UK centre for aerodynamics. He also planned to make Britain Europe’s technology centre, with subsidies for video games and high-speed broadband. He repeated his message with renewed enthusiasm in his October 2012 Tory conference speech, declaring ‘That’s a modern industrial policy, and I am its champion’.1 All governments claim to want a growing economy, but we don’t say that they have an industrial policy unless they support specific companies or sectors.
    [Show full text]
  • Policy Boostering the Social Impact Investment Market in the UK
    Edinburgh Research Explorer Policy boostering the Social Impact Investment Market in the UK Citation for published version: Wiggan, J 2018, 'Policy boostering the Social Impact Investment Market in the UK', Journal of Social Policy, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 721-738. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279418000089 Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.1017/S0047279418000089 Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Peer reviewed version Published In: Journal of Social Policy Publisher Rights Statement: This article has been published in a revised form in Journal of Social Policy [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279418000089]. This version is published under a Creative Commons CC-BY- NC-ND. No commercial re-distribution or re-use allowed. Derivative works cannot be distributed. © copyright holder. General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 30. Sep. 2021 Policy boostering the Social Impact Investment Market in the UK Abstract Under the Conservative-Liberal Coalition Government and the Conservative Government that took office in 2015, policy measures were introduced to develop a Social Impact Investment Market that harnesses private finance to invest in services to achieve social and financial outcomes.
    [Show full text]
  • Salvaging the Big Society. a Ten-Point Plan
    Salvaging the Big Society. A ten-point plan David Grayson [email protected] David Harrison [email protected] A Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility Occasional Paper May 2011 Wordle reproduced with permission from www.ncvo-vol.org/big-society-evidence The Doughty Centre aims to combine rigorous research and leading-edge practice. We focus on three things: knowledge creation: rigorous and relevant research into how companies can embed responsible business into the way they do business; knowledge dissemination: introducing Corporate Responsibility more systemically into existing graduate and executive education (both in relevant open programmes and customised, in-company programmes); and knowledge application: working with alumni, corporate partners and others to implement our knowledge and learning. We welcome enquiries for collaborations including around: speaking and /or chairing conferences and in-company events facilitating organisations in the public, private or voluntary sectors who wish to produce their own think- pieces/ "white papers" on Corporate Responsibility, sustainability or public-private-community partnerships practical projects to embed CR in an organisation scenario-development and presentations to help organisations envision a more responsible and sustainable future co-creation and joint publication of research, think-pieces and practical "how-to" guides design and delivery of organisation-customised and open learning programmes around CR, sustainability or public-private-community partnerships FOREWORD I would like to warmly congratulate David Grayson and David Harrison on their BY SIR STUART analysis of the Big Society and their subsequent proposals to develop a more widespread understanding, acceptance and, where appropriate, implementation of ETHERINGTON, CEO, this agenda. Whilst the Big Society is a political initiative, many of the underpinning NATIONAL COUNCIL OF policies and ideas envisage a better partnership between individual citizens, VOLUNTARY communities, business and the state.
    [Show full text]